2. member-reviews
  3. 1109374176

Review: Denon APl 3910 CD Player

Category: Digital

Musical tastes : Patricia Barber , Deep Forest , Sting , Banco de Gaia , Seal , Steely Dan and anything from the FIM label . Recordings I use for testing are Chesky s Ultimate Demonstration Disc , Chesky s Women of Song , Patricia Barbers Modern Cool , Dean Peer s Its All Good , Diana Krall Love Scenes and all Burrmester discs . Most important aspect of sound reproduction to me is transparency , timbral accuracy and soundstaging properties. Turn offs are a bass heavy balance. This unit has been with me for 3 months. It replaced a Bat Vk D5 SE and marantz SA 1 . The sound changed by becoming more focused with a much larger soundstage .The players within a given ensemble seperated dramatically and it was much easier to look into the soundfield and place the space between the instruments. A favorite disc for this test is Deep Forest s "Music Detected". Each track is brilliantly recorded and is a fantastic disc for evaluating spacial characteristics of your speakers and how they react within your system . With the Denon , the sound wrapped around both sides of the room and enveloped me in a faux surround sound enviroment that no other player in my system had done. It was deeper as well as wider than any player I have ever auditioned .The Sacd version of Diana Krall "Love Scenes" is breathtaking in its imaging properties and the Denon was spot on . The acoustical envelope was clearer and more holographic with an extended top octave which added immediacy and air to percussive instruments and cymbols.A good example is Johnny Frigos "I Love Paris ". Stregnths were an obviously huge soundstage and quick midbass percussive attack. The arrangement is fast and taunt and the Denon seemed to place acoustical air around the musicians. It comes alive on the Denon. Lower bass was extended deeper and discs like the DVD-A version of Blue Man Groups " Audio " showcase the stregnths of the Denon by delivering a far superior percussive assault than the Bat , Marantz Sa 1 or the Meridian G 98 . Female vocals became natural and engaging. Rebecca Pidgeon s famous " Spanish Harlem " was so lifelike I felt like it was the first time I had heard the track. Instrumental " character " was better defined as cymbals became more easily deleniated from one another within a given song. Dean Peers " Its All Good" has a wealth of cymbal diversity on it and the decay and individual caracter of the various unique cymbals used are beautifully recreated through Alex Peychevs Denon 3910. I am no relation to nor affiliated to Alex or APl Hi Fi . I have also heard no better player regardless of price.
brainwater
puremusic
226 posts
 
Amperidian, The Elrod Statement adds weight, body, bass definition and extention, refinement, dynamics, and a huge soundstage. If you can't find a dealer near you, you can give David Elrod a call.

Prior to the Statements, I used some cords made for me by Jim Aud of Purist Audio Design about 10 years ago. They did not have a name. I tried Virtual Dynamics Night II and Master Series. But in my system and to my ears/tastes, I strongly prefered the Statements.

I am having positive results with Symposium Rollerblocks and platforms under my speakers, amps and CD player. I'm thinking of getting additional Symposium devices for AC conditioners and crossover. What devices did you have good results with for these component?

Did you compare the double stacked 2+/G3 to an upside-down single stack 2+/G3 under your CD player? If so, what were the sonic differences?
amperidian
67 posts
 
Brainwater and Puremusic, thank you for the input ... very much appreciated. I will consider the Elrod Statement for the amp, I may be able to just pick up a used one here on a'gon and turn it around if it does not fit in my current setup ... I have heard that the elrod pc is the best out there for amps and a friend has strongly recommended it but he lives too far for me to audition it, but you guys are really twisting my arm here ... man oh man, my wife is going to kill me ... :)

As regards the symposiums, I have not tried the inverted setup mentioned above because I don't use the ultra/quantum platforms beneath the rollerblocks, but instead I use an older HRS M2 which is made of a special polymer (with a coriander base underneath) that is not as hard as the surface in the symposium shelves (and so I would lose or severely limit the rolling effect of the rollerball). I initially tried them in single stacked config. and found marginal improvement double stacking them (however I felt it was worth it in my system despite the cost/performance ratio, as were the grade 3 balls). My impression is that the grade 3 ball has a better surface to roll on if used in double stacked config. due to both contact surfaces being polished (I don't think the ultra/quantum shelves offer this yet but you should try to email symposium, they would be able to give you the best advice) ... I found the recommended lubricant does not work in my system (so take that with a grain of salt).
puremusic
226 posts
 
Amperidian, "...man oh man my wife is going to kill me..." You could make Brainwater and me as your beneficiaries on your life insurance policy. We'll put the money to good use in our audio systems.

On the bottom of the Rollerblock box (under the foam) you should find 3 small stainless steel plates that you can use to give you a hard surface if you want to try the 2+/G3 upside-down.
amperidian
67 posts
 
just tried them upside down with the steel plates ... sounds hollow compared to the double stacked config. and I had a hard time centering them under the rollerblocks when upside down ... back to double stacked configuration now ... whew, I can relax again ... overall a worthy experiment though.

Just ordered a Statement ... if I don't post anymore on a'gon ... Puremusic and Brainwater my system will ship to you for final tweaks just so all my work is not wasted ... :)
puremusic
226 posts
 
Amperidian, I took note of your observation on the comparison between the upside-down and the double-stacked Rollerblocks. I have another set of Rollerblocks, so I tried a double-stacked 2+/G3. In my system, the double-stacked version has greater high-end extension, cleaner and more transparent harmonic texture, and more body. Thanks, your good deed will not go unnoticed by the Muses. Should your wife disapprove of your Statement purchase in an unfortunate way, your good audio deeds will insure that you will ascend directly into Musical Nirvana.
More to discover